The song saw a release as a promotional single as a part of an award-winning collaborative advertisement campaign between Shakira and SEAT, a Spanish car manufacturer.

Shakira commented that they made the four songs in "five days", reflecting that Pharrell is "very fast and immediate in the studio" while she herself is "a little slower", and noted that she "learned a lot from his method".

[2] Its production consists of hybrid world rhythms with a changing tempo, has some electronic influences, and features prominent xylophone instrumental on the chorus.

In an album review, Judy Rosen from Rolling Stone characterized "Good Stuff" as "a string of musical surprises", all the way from its "dancehall-style rap-singing to a ridiculously catchy chorus.

assessed the song being "one sexual moan after another", noting that it has "a very synthesized slight Middle Eastern sound with a hint of Mexican and a dash of Mediterranean", while having "beautifully formulated" "xylophone Caribbean choruses" and an "ever changing tempo structure" that "keeps you hanging on wanting more".

[6] The Washington Post Express noted that the song "borrows some Indian and Brazilian rhythms to help Shakira deliver her rapid-fire lyrics".